Bag of Cookies
by desperatelyobvious
Summary: Max won't admit it, but she hasn't moved on from Fang yet. Between trying to save the world and sorting out her feelings, she lost who she was along the way. Who knew all she needed was a bag of cookies and a confrontation to find her way back? Oneshot.


**Hi everyone!**

Okay, first off: I know this is late but I just _had_ to write this; it was begging to be written. Despite the eight month delay, it took me a long time to plan and type this out so I hope my efforts didn't completely go to waste.

Also, you **all need to know** that this oneshot is set after chapter 64 in Angel: AMRN, when Max and Fang argued on the elevator ride back to their hotel rooms in Paris. The italicized portion is directly quoted from chapter 64, but Angel _never_ interrupted and came to them with a plan. Let's just say they parted ways and four days have passed since. Capiche?

**Without further ado, I hope you guys like it :)**

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><p>"<em>This is what <em>you_ decided!" I said, stung. "You're the one who left! You're the one who immediately replaced all of us! Replaced me!"_

"_She's not a replacement for you!" His face softened for a moment. "No one could replace you. But I needed another good fighter. And…she's really very different from you, in a lot of ways."_

"_That's special!" I snapped. "Glad to hear it!"_

"_What about you and superboy?" Fang demanded. "You think I don't know what's going on?"_

"_Yeah? Then tell me, 'cause I have no freaking idea what's going on!"_

My eyes snapped open, the scene disappearing behind my eyelids with the overhead light. The same question kept ringing inside my head, turning my brain to mush: What did he mean back there? What did that whole exchange equate to?

That conversation happened four days ago, in that oh so conveniently cramped elevator that still haunts me to this day. In fact, I even dubbed it the 'Awkward Elevator Episode' in my head, for whenever I thought about it.

I couldn't believe my mind was still occupied with thoughts of _him _when I knew I had other things to worry about. Four days had passed and yet none of our flocks had thought of any ideas on how to approach the Doomsday Group. I felt so royally _screwed._

We were still staying at the middle-class hotel, with Fang's gang in the next floor above us, and we've been spending all our time trying to think of full-proof plans. Just yesterday I decided that the girls and I move in and share a room with the boys. I didn't expect us to stay here this long, and our short supply of cash was starting to run extra low. I had to think on my feet.

Right now, we were all just lounging about in the hotel suite. Angel and Nudge were huddled over a magazine and gushing over things I couldn't care less about. Iggy was sprawled out on the pullout bed with his eyes closed, listening serenely to the old hot pink iPod we all shared. Gazzy and Total were flipping through the channels together. And Dylan sat against the wall on the floor, trying to find information about the Doomsday Group on our laptop like the good little Leader's Pet that he was.

I should've been trying to think of ideas too. I was the _leader_, and yet I've succumb to asking for help from my flock. I knew I should've immediately had an answer, but this was out of my hands now; the situation was much bigger than I'd imagined. I had to swallow down my pride and accept all the help I could get – including the help of my ass of an ex-boyfriend.

I knew how important this mission was. Lives of innocent people, in fact, the whole _world _depended on us – and yet, my mind couldn't help but focus on my own little world.

_My_ world, with the people sitting around me right now and the guy upstairs who'd broken my heart.

My mind still couldn't wrap around the idea of what Fang had done. It's been days since we'd joined forces, but now that I have the time to stop and think of what had happened, I really couldn't believe he replaced us. Replaced the flock.

I always thought that it would be the six of us, with him by my side, as we saved the world. After all we'd been through – when we'd split up, fought about petty things, ran away together – I thought there was nothing left in the world that could tear us apart.

But now we were saving the world, only it wasn't his hand I would be holding. He was going to be standing amongst others in the battle. A new group of people that he loved. People who took our spots in his heart.

He replaced _me_, and what hurt the most was that it was my _clone_.

Did Fang forget that she was the one who'd deceived my flock when I was kidnapped and put into a fricken' sensory deprivation chamber? The one who was going to kill me if I didn't kill her first? Did he choose her just so he could hurt me?

On the outside I may have been same ol' sarcastic Max, comeback at the ready, but deep inside I was breaking. Why was he throwing her at my face? How could he act like she was me? And what did she have that I didn't?

Maybe she was smarter than me, funnier than me, probably even tougher than me – a much better version of myself than I'll ever be.

I didn't understand how he could act like everything was just dandy; how he can still laugh and smile and go on with his life, when both our worlds crumbled the day he left. Did he stop loving me so quickly that it didn't even hurt? Or was it because I loved him more than he loved me?

Did he even think about me at all as he posted their cute little videos of them spraying cheese in each others faces and just having a friggin' jolly good time, while I cried myself to sleep and hid behind my half-smiles?

It didn't _matter_ if he needed a good fighter on his side. There were plenty of other people who knew how to fight. He could've taught other kids himself, like how I taught my flock.

Why did he choose _her?_ Of all people? Mocking me in a way I can't ignore, putting his arm around _her_ shoulders, tucking _her_ hair behind her ear exactly as he'd done for me so many times, smiling that crooked smile that I loved so much to somebody else, forcing me to watch their display of how we used to be.

When we used to be in love.

…_what happened to that?_

Sighing a huge exhale, mentally exhausted from all that brain fart, I refused to acknowledge the single tear that slid down the side of my face, dissolving into the spot above my ear.

Why was I even _crying?_ God, I was turning into such a _girl._

How the heck could he still make me feel like this? Two goddamn weeks have passed and yet I was still worrying about this crap.

I was _Maximum Ride, _for goodness sake. I couldn't afford to mope around and bawl like a cry baby forever. In fact, I couldn't believe I cared so much when he obviously didn't. From the moment we met up with him, it's always been about fucking _Maya_.

He didn't _care_. He didn't chase after me, not even to check and see if I was okay after the explosion at the restaurant. I mean, so what if my arm was blown to bits? So long as _Maya_ was perfect everything was fine! He didn't _fucking_ care, so why the hell should I?

He made it seem like everything in the past meant nothing. Maybe it _was_ nothing to him. Because that guy may look like my ex-best friend, but now he was a total stranger who didn't mean a thing to me. It all meant nothing, and I-

Oh jeez… I was at it again.

Okay. Stop, Max. Just stop thinking about.

I couldn't let the flock see me like this. I was their leader, and they looked up to me. I've been such a blubbering mess the past few days that I've practically been stripped of my self-respect and dignity. How could I boss around the flock if I wasn't worthy enough to follow? There was no time for crying. I had to be strong for everyone.

Besides, he didn't deserve my tears. I shouldn't have to cry over insignificant things such as heartbreak. It was almost as trivial as spilled milk. I wouldn't cry for love lost. It wasn't important enough to cry about.

"You okay, Max? Are you hungry?" Dylan's deep voice rang out, snapping me out of my reverie. He was still seated on the floor, fingers typing away at the keyboard, but his eyes were locked on mine.

I was slightly creeped out that he'd been keeping an eye on me, but at least _someone_ cared. Or maybe it was because I'd been staring at the ceiling for the past few minutes, eyes vacant and unblinking with my hands fiddling subconsciously across my stomach. I guess the flock figured I was back to living in my own thoughts, not bothering to disturb me.

I met his beautiful turquoise eyes for a split-second across the room, and in that moment I tried to figure out where I stood with _this_ guy.

I didn't even _want_ to analyze what we have. There were times when I wanted to brutally beat the crap out of Dylan for his arrogance or his stupidity…but other times I find myself enjoying his company. He was honestly a good kid, and more often than not he means well, but sometimes I think I only believe this because Fang's not here anymore.

If Fang was still in the flock, I'd imagine I would be annoyed with Dylan, always interrupting and intruding my relationship. That's how I felt with him in the beginning. I didn't want to have anything to do with him; I wanted him away from me like the plague.

But now…I needed someone to be there for me, and since Dylan was the only person available, I gave it a shot. He was nowhere near the enormity of Fang's importance in my life but he was there and it was enough to fill the void that he left behind. I believe the term is called 'rebound'.

"It's nothing; I'm fine," I muttered faintly, coming to stare at the ceiling again. I tried to act unconcerned and impassive, but my appetite had other ideas. At a point where everyone's voices seemed to mute for a moment, my stomach growled audibly.

I was going to have a word with my tummy later.

The flock chuckled just as Dylan stood up, dusting his pants in the process. Surprisingly, I didn't blush; either I didn't have the mind to be bothered or I really didn't care. I mean, we were always hungry.

"Your stomach begs to differ." Dylan smiled, coming to stand by my bed. Okay, sometimes he irked the hell out of me whenever he stated the obvious, but what can I do? "I'll run by the pastry shop down the street and get you something, alright?" he leaned down to brush my unruly fringe out of my forehead. I could only nod.

"Get something for me and Ange too!" Nudge said from the floor, "My stomach feels hungry enough to eat itself."

"Sure thing. Y'know, I think I'll just get everyone some food. I'll be back as soon as I can," he said, already stuffing all the scattered bills on the counter into his pockets.

"Good idea. You go do that," I told him hurriedly, giving him a thumbs-up.

And so it was, he exited our room, and I was left alone with my thoughts again.

I didn't know how much time passed. At this point, my mind was racing with ideas of revenge, conjuring plans on either sticking to Dylan like glue – since his mere existence annoyed Fang to no end, or snapping sarcastic retorts at Fang and Maya every chance I get.

I was getting so into it that all it was missing was a maniacal evil laugh, but even then my plotting was not enough to distract me from the quiet crinkling sound of plastic. I shot up into a sitting position on the bed in a snap, happy that Dylan was finally back with some chow.

I glanced around the room, eyes bright (yes, delicious French food was very exciting in my book) but there was no inhumanely handsome bird-kid anywhere. My eyebrows scrunched up with confusion.

Looking down at Angel and Nudge by the foot of the bed, I saw that they were playing a card game now, both their eyes intent on their fanned out cards in their palms. Total, paw on the remote control, was staring at the TV, the screen featuring some cooking show. Gazzy was huddled in the corner, hunched up and squatting all by himself; and Iggy was still listening to music, his eyelids shut as he-

Wait. _What the hell was Gazzy doing?_

Instantly, I stood up cautiously and walked as silent as I could to where he was, the crinkling sound getting louder and louder thanks to my enhanced hearing. I'm guessing the rest of the flock hadn't noticed him because they were all busy doing their own thing, minding their own business. It's just too bad I wasn't one for privacy.

Creeping up behind him, I could just imagine what he'd be doing – probably building another bomb again. I was still unsure whether I should or shouldn't reprimand him – seeing as we needed all the ammo we could get for when we faced the Doomsday Group – but still, scaring him was fun all the same. Approaching his crouched figure, I mentally counted down.

_3…_

I tiptoed barefooted, edging to the left to avoid being seen.

_2…_

My form stood over him threateningly, and I shook my head in disappointment for his carelessness.

_1!_

"_WHAT ARE YOU DOING?_" I quickly placed my hands on his shoulders and questioned him loudly, using my most intimidating voice. His whole body jumped at least two feet in the air and he whirled around with wide blue eyes, crumbs spewing everywhere.

Crumbs spewing _everywhere – _as in, on my hair, into my eyes, down my neckline and inside my shirt.

"_Gazzy!_" I shrieked, instinctively rubbing my eyes and shaking my head.

When all the grit was gone, my eyes immediately flashed to the Mrs. Fields package on the floor, the smell of chocolate chip cookies wafting through the tiny opening. My eyes flashed.

Sweet baby Jesus, he was a _dead man walking._ He had a fricken' stash of chocolate chip cookies and he didn't think to share them with the rest of us! Stuffing his face greedily in the corner while we all had to wait for Dylan? What? Is chivalry dead or something?

"_Give it here!_" I tried snatching it from his grasp but already he was darting out of my reach, stuffing his mouth with more cookies and laughing into my face.

Oh, it was _so_ on.

From my peripheral vision, I noticed everyone was now paying attention to the both of us, heads turned our way as we elbowed and kneed each other for the package. In a matter of seconds, I was able to wrap my arms around Gazzy's waist and pin him to the ground, effectively incapacitating him. I really thought I had him then, on the verge of cackling in triumph, but in the next second he screamed for Iggy (who had taken off his earphones by then) and flung the cookie bag in the air, tag-teaming all of a sudden.

Oh, so that's how it was? A realignment of friendship?

"_Angel!_" I decided to call for her across the room, indicating that we were partnering up. Grinning up at me, she launched herself at Iggy without skipping a beat, and to sum it up, it turned into a complete and utter riot of bird-kid frenzy.

Through all the mayhem, I found myself laughing for the first time in weeks, a giddy burst of giggles escaping my throat as we all rolled on the floor and clawed each other mercilessly. It was a nice change from all the stress and headaches, and I felt an invisible weight lift off my chest. It dawned on me that I was happy for once (despite my stomach rumbling like a damn 8.5 earthquake).

And I could tell the rest of the flock was having fun too, because they were all smiles that it was almost blinding. Our laughs and shouts all blended together and it was truly music to my ears.

All I ever wanted was for my flock to be happy and we were finally enjoying ourselves, just being able to act our real ages in this moment. I loved every second of it, despite getting punched in the boob and elbowed on my neck. It was really something – being able to have fun in the middle of the apocalypse.

We all took sides – Nudge, Angel and I in one team, and Iggy, Gazzy and Total in the other. Yes, even _Total_ was having a grand ol' time, slobbering his saliva all over our faces and biting ankles whenever the opportunity presents itself.

It seemed like we were all over the place, yanking the bag of cookies back and forth and raining crumbs all over the carpeted floor. We rolled across the beds and climbed over the cabinets, trying to one up the other team whatever the costs.

At one point, the whirlwind of jumping here and there and shoving this and that just made the whole thing feel like a one huge blur. It was only when we all heard a huge bang reverberate throughout the room that I came back to my senses and noticed the state we were all in.

Angel was body-slammed to the ground by Gazzy a few feet away from us, backed up by Total licking her cheeks to prevent her from helping me and Nudge. Nudge, on the other hand, was latched onto the back of our resident birdkid chef piggyback style, yanking at his blond hair with one hand and reaching for the package in his outstretched arm with the other.

And as for me? Well I was _this _close to grabbing the package, sneakily crawling behind Iggy to surprise attack him, when suddenly his free arm just grabbed me round the waist and hauled me off my feet. As in, he was _literally_ carrying me like a package propped against his hip bone, my body at least four feet off the ground while I protested all the while.

Halting mid-thrash and whipping my head around to face the direction of the noise, my eyes took in the sight of Fang's _entire_ gang as they busted through our door, posing in the most ridiculous fighting stances I've _ever_ seen. Even _Total_ look more intimidating then them lot. I wanted to burst out laughing so bad, especially since I was still on a high, but from their set and determined faces I knew this was something serious.

But then of course-

"YOU LOOK LIKE A PRAYING MANTIS THAT NEEDS TO PISS," Gazzy said loudly from his position on the floor, still holding his sister down as he pointed at Star rather bluntly.

That was when we _all_ burst into hysterics.

It took us a while to calm down, but not before we had tears streaming down our faces, clapped like retarded seals, and each developed six pack abs.

I was the first to gather my bearings – _obviously_ since I was the leader – but even then I knew my face was beet red, hands on my knees as I struggled to cough out the words, "What are you guys doing here?"

I directed my question to the 'praying mantis', feeling slightly sorry that Gazzy chose to insult her. I wouldn't dare look into _his_ eyes, after the roller coaster my mind went through with thoughts of him.

"It's the end of the world as we know it and you guys are shrieking like banshees at this time in the evening. _Of course,_" Maya spat condescending from beside _him_, a disgusted look on her face as she took in the state we were in.

I snapped my head to face her and quickly shot back, "Excuse me, but you're not allowed to speak unless you're spoken to," my eyes burning into hers with as much malice as I could muster.

Only _I_ was allowed to insult my flock. Who the hell did she think she was?

I watched her open her mouth to retort back something, but Nudge beat her to the punch to back me up, striding forward to be heard better.

"Yeah, says the hypocrites who decided to post your lameass videos squirting chiz whiz into each others faces. I mean, _pu-lease._ I did that with _my_ family when I was eight." And I would've reprimanded her for her language but I was honestly more inclined to giving her a high-five and a chest-bump more than anything.

Before this started turning into an insult match, _he_ and Iggy quickly intervened, stepping forward in all their six-foot glory to appease the rising tension.

"What are you guys doing here anyway?" Iggy asked levelly, trying to keep it formal and curt. Ever the pacifist. Psh.

"Ratchet heard shouting coming from your bedroom. We just wanted to check and see if you guys were okay," _He_ said with an undecipherable expression on his face.

"We appreciate your concern but you'd all be more likely to cause more casualties if there was an attack," Angel piped up as she hobbled on a knee to stand upright. Reading the annoyed expressions of the other flock's faces, I shot forward and clamped a hand over Angel's mouth, holding her small form to my stomach.

"What Angel meant to say is that we're fine. I'm not an _idiot_-" I glanced at Maya out of the corner of my eye, "I know we're all in danger. So if all we have left is a few days together, I'd like to spend the time wisely with my _family_, thank you," I said coldly, and in a moment of courage I turned on my heel to face Fang, my brown eyes meeting his unflinchingly.

"So if you could just get out of our room now, my family and I would very much appreciate that."

And that was all I really needed.

No matter what we did, there would always be a connection between me and him. He could sever all our ties and brush me aside as nothing all he wanted, but _something_ was still there hanging on by a single thread, and in that short split second I saw everything I needed to know.

I saw determination, and fear, and love, and _longing_, but more than anything I saw the sadness that threatened to burst from his entire being. No one else would be able to see the emotions that were eating him away on the inside, all pent up in his charcoal eyes – the ones he was able to express and speak of only around me.

In just that one glance, I saw how much he missed us. Missed the family that he's known his whole life and grew up with. Missed his best friend and all his corny jokes. Missed his little sister and her non-stop chatter. Missed the little brother who always pulled off mischievous pranks. Missed his sort of-daughter and her adorable tendencies, however bi-polar she's become.

And most importantly, he misses me.

For a moment there I almost lost it. I almost ran towards Fang and threw my arms around his neck, crying and pleading him to come back to me in the most embarrassing way possible. I would sacrifice my composure and let down my guards for him. Really. I was that close, knowing that we were both missing the other.

But things in my world just don't work that way.

The bitter part of my core spoke louder than all other reasoning, commanding me to stop and stand my ground. It whispered in my mind that if he really wanted to come back, then he would've done so on his own accord. That his love for me was not enough to bring him back.

So instead in turn, I hardened my eyes and turned my heart to stone, replying back through my eyes that it was his fault he was missing all of this. I made sure that he understood he was not a part of it, and he wasn't ever going to be anymore.

We could all feel the suffocating tension in the air, both our flocks aware of how Fang and I communicated and what was happening. It was almost thick enough to slice with a butcher knife, but I wasted no time and turned my head away before ushering Fang's gang indifferently to the door. They awkwardly scuttled out one by one, Maya shooting me a pathetic cold glare in the process which I ignored, until Fang was the last out of the doorway. He spun around as if to talk to me but I barely spared him a glance and slammed the door in his face.

I exhaled breath I didn't know I was holding in.

My entire flock was quiet for a moment, still trying to comprehend what just happened. They didn't look too happy from what I can deduce from Nudge's dejected face and Gazzy's trembling lip.

But Iggy being Iggy, decided to comment before I was able to go into leader mode.

"That was intense, bro," he said, his sightless blue eyes wide as he smoothed down his shirt and began picking up the fallen cookies off the floor. Gazzy suddenly snickered from my right, and Angel cradled Total affectionately in her arms to brush away the crumbs from his fur.

They were picking themselves back up; I did so likewise.

I made my way to the bathroom in the far corner of the room in a daze, locking the door behind me. Once I'd reached the off-white ceramic of the sink, knees hitting the cabinets hard enough for me to buck, I gripped the edge and steeled my arms taut. My eyes could only focus on the silver circular drainage in the middle of the bowl as the reality of it all sunk straight to my bones.

It was undeniable that I missed Fang. God, I missed him so, _so_ much.

Just the sight of him unleashes my freakin' Pandora's Box of emotions, and I could not, for the life of me, understand how I could feel so much pain at the age of 15. I don't think anyone my age has gone through the amount of wounds and suffering I have.

My muscles would ache, my eyes would sting, my throat would feel all thick and warm, and it was almost physically impossible to _breathe_ whenever I reminisce our past together. Whenever I think about my ex-best friend in general.

I didn't know how I could depend, and trust, and love, and go crazy over him, but he wasn't just anyone – he was _Fang_, and no other explanations need be said. If I were to fully talk about my feelings about him (like _that_ would happen), I'd either be stunned speechless chocking on my words or turn into the Nudge Channel and vomit my feelings unfiltered. Neither option was pretty.

I was starting to get that feeling again – when my eyes began to sting. I willed myself to push the tears back and get a hold of myself. My heart started to throb erratically in my chest with every flashback of our sweet past and I brought a hand to my chest as if clawing at the spot where my heart was would just stop the hurt. I fisted the fabric of my shirt as if I could hold my heart together.

And then it hit me.

Its force was similar to a tsunami tidal wave, knocking the breath out of me in a _whoosh_ and making me stumbling on the balls of my feet. It hit me fast and hard that my jello legs almost gave out again if my reflexes hadn't come to the rescue. And if the revelation was any physical form, it probably would've been a punch in the gut, maybe even worse. It was just a simple thought, but it hit me even harder than most blows I've received in my life.

The heart that I was trying to hold on to seemed broken beyond repair. I felt as if it had been stomped on and cut into pieces, pureed in a blender and fed to sharks; frankly and simply put, it hurt like a _bitch_. I felt I was going through hell. But looking past all the pain and suffering, I realized…

I realized that my heart was still beating.

Fang leaving destroyed whatever pieces of me I had left from the School. It was so easy to feel loved and complete whenever I was with my flock but when he left, everything I fought so hard to build just came crumbling back down. I've felt pain more times than I wish to remember, but never like this. This was a kind of pain that seemed to have no such cure.

But now, with my palm pressed against the warm flesh where my heart was, I knew then that I would be okay. I was convinced that I couldn't move on from this when in fact, maybe I was halfway there.

Life went on, even without Fang. Mornings still faded to night. Time still turned. And my heart continued on beating.

I felt like I had died when he left, like my body was ripped in half and I couldn't function or think. Everything felt dull and meaningless, but in the end I still continued on living.

And I _would_ continue on living.

No, it wasn't the end of the world but in fact a new beginning of my life where I would _save_ the world.

Crucial that I save humanity as soon as possible, but it was also true that I had a lot of time on my hands. I'm still 15 years old; still a kid. I can still grow as a person. I can still have fun and make the most of what life had dealt me with. I can still learn from the mistakes I know I'll make; and I can still fall in love, over and over again.

I once thought that Fang was my soulmate, and maybe that still holds true, but nothing was really set in stone. We're never sure of anything, really. I could wreck my brain forever wondering how fate worked but I shouldn't concern myself with things I can't control. I can't waste my time on possibilities when I have a world to save and a flock to lead.

Of course, I can't forget my flock.

The follicles of my scalp tingled as I thought back to when Gazzy was yanking on my hair to get to the cookies. I can still remember the way Iggy's strong arm felt around my waist as he held me suspended in the air. And Total's saliva was still most definitely slobbered all over my ankles and on the ends of my jeans.

Thinking back to those moments, I felt both happiness and guilt spread through me. Happiness, because I've never felt so alive in so long – just having fun with my family without a care in the world. And guilt because it _has been_ so long since I've spent time with them, wasting away the past two weeks doing nothing.

The flock already put their trust in me a second time, and I repay them by locking myself in my bedroom and pitifully reading the contents of Fang's laptop, hoping that I'd find a file that could lead me to him or something.

I couldn't lose them; not again. I needed all of them – needed Iggy's support, Gazzy's ideas, Nudge's optimism, Angel's knowledge, Total's loyalty, and maybe even Dylan's concern that let me know someone cared.

They grew up with me, and we've been together through everything. They were all I had left, and I had to cherish every moment spent with them now more than ever. We all take care of each other, and love each other unconditionally despite our weaknesses and faults.

Jeb, Dr. Martinez and Ella may be my biological family but I truly belonged with my flock. They were my real family; they were home to me.

And it was the same for Fang. He had once been a part of my family, the most important aspect of it, but he left us and he had his own now. And so long as Fang had another us, I wasn't ever going to take him back.

In the days that I'd been doing nothing but mourn, I entertained the idea that he'd probably return. Unbeknownst to everyone, I would sit in the porch not just spacing out, but waiting. Waiting for Fang to descend from the afternoon sky, his powerful midnight wings graceful and lithe as he would run to me and take me in his arms with apologies.

Clearly, he wasn't turning to come back but instead, was looking for another family for himself. I'm positive Fang knew what he was getting himself into; attaching himself figuratively and emotionally to other beings made things permanent. Once Fang created a bond with those people, he would never abandon them. He would lead and stick with them till the very end.

I too, would stay with mine as I saved the world.

That was the most important thing right now: stopping the Doomsday Group and ultimately diminishing companies such as the School and Itex from inhumane experimentations. I was to kill the cause of the One Light and save the people from their own destruction. My job was to spread the word of keeping this world safe, and to propagate peace throughout the lands.

People say fifteen is too young an age to save the world; I say _bring it_. I can definitely feel the premonitions of what's yet to come and I know there's no time for fun and games anymore. No more pathetic kidnapping stunts or attempting to attend real school anymore. I'm past the separation threats and the side-tracking, insignificant missions that got me nowhere.

I will not let love get in the way of my purpose.

The rush of new resolve was adrenaline, pumping through my veins as it awakened the determination that's been missing for so long. A figurative second punch hit me, but this time it was welcomed. I could hear my heart pounding in my ears, beating with excitement; and I took a deep breath as I replayed the last line I thought in my mind.

Lifting my head with pride, I stared back at my bright brown eyes and reveled in its burning intensity. They were the same pair of eyes I'd see in the mirror everyday, but there was something different in them now; something that told me I was finally, _finally_ ready.

I easily stood straighter now; taller. Slowly, my straight-set mouth transformed into a smile: a frightening, sort of twisted smirk – the kind that brought about nightmares and ignited fear into the hearts of innocents – and as startlingly terrifying it is that I could smile with so much malice, I found it beautiful in a way.

Because it marked the beginning of my renewed conviction to take down the enemy and save the world. And more than anything, it meant so much to me because it represented what I just realized.

I would become Maximum Ride again.

* * *

><p><strong>So…how was it? Please tell me by reviewing! :)<strong>

Without Wax,

.: Tiffany :.


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